The original sound of reggae (pre-reggae), played in Jamaica in the early 1960’s, originated largely by the island’s resort and studio players who came together to form The Skatalites. The early hits from The Wailing Wailers, such as “One Cup Of Coffee,” “Simmer Down,” and the original “One Love” are all great examples of ska featuring vocals. (A large part of original Jamaican ska was instrumental—check anything from The Skatalites! The Skatalites were the instrumental backing band for some of the early Wailers’ tracks.) Ska relies heavily on the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone to carry the melodies, and has a prominent steady upbeat carrying the music forward.

List of notable bands and musicians who performed primarily Ska or Ska-influenced music for a significant portion of their careers.

The originators of Ska started performing in 1950s

Aubrey Adams

Laurel Aitken

Roland Alphonso

Theophilus Beckford

Val Bennett

Baba Brooks

The Blues Busters

Prince Buster

Clue J & His Blues Blasters

Stranger Cole

Desmond Dekker

Don Drummond

Jackie Edwards

Alton Ellis

The Ethiopians

Owen Gray

Derrick Harriott

Justin Hinds

Jah Jerry Haynes

Judge Dread

Lloyd Knibb

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires

Count Machuki

Carlos Malcolm

Tommy McCook

The Melodians

Johnny “Dizzy” Moore

Derrick Morgan

Eric “Monty” Morris

Jackie Opel

The Paragons

Lee “Scratch” Perry

The Pioneers

Ernest Ranglin

Rico Rodriguez

The Skatalites

Millie Small

Symarip

Lynn Taitt

Lord Tanamo

Toots & the Maytals

The Wailers

Delroy Wilson

Starting in late 1970s – 2 Tone Ska Revival

The 2 Tone sound was developed by young musicians in Coventry, West Midlands, England who grew up hearing 1960s Jamaican music.They combined influences from ska, reggae and rocksteady with elements of Punk Rock and New Wave music. Bands considered part of the genre include:

Andy Cox

Pauline Black

Rhoda Dakar

Bad Manners

Mike Barson

The Beat (known as The English Beat)

Mark Bedford

Buster Bloodvessel

The Bodysnatchers

John Bradbury

Jerry Dammers

Chris Foreman

Lynval Golding

Terry Hall

Madness

Everett Morton

Horace Panter

Roddy Radiation

Ranking Roger

The Selecter

Chas Smash

The Specials ( known as The Special AKA)

Neville Staple

Suggs

Lee Thompson

Dave Wakeling

Daniel Woodgate

1980s /1990s Ska Punk / Ska-core (skacore)

Ska Punk is a fusion music genre that combines Ska and Punk Rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s.[Ska-core (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.

The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting genres. The more punk-influenced style often features faster tempos, guitar distortion, onbeat punk rock-style interludes (usually the chorus), and punk-style vocals. The more ska-influenced style of ska punk features a more developed instrumentation and a cleaner vocal and musical sound. The common instrumentation includes electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, brass instruments (such as trombones or trumpets), saxophones, and sometimes an organ.
Below is a list of famous Ska Punk and Ska-core Bands and Musicians